Legendary long-distance runner Jerome Drayton, who won the Boston Marathon in 1977 and held the Canadian men’s marathon record for 43 years, has died. He was 80.
Drayton died unexpectedly on Monday in Toronto, according to Cardinal Funeral Homes. Runners World magazine said he died during knee surgery.
Drayton was inducted into Canada’s Sports Hall of Fame in 1978.
Born as Peter Buniak on Jan. 10, 1945, in Kolbermoore, Germany, he came to Canada in 1956 and changed his name.
WATCH | Drayton runs to victory at 1977 Boston Marathon:
Watch Canadian Jerome Drayton cross the finish line in first place at the Boston Marathon.
He turned heads in 1969 by winning the Motor City Marathon in a North American record time. Later that year, he won the Fukuoka Marathon in Japan with another North American record.
Over his career, Drayton held 12 national titles and set 13 records over various distances, according to the hall of fame.
In 1970, he recorded a world record on the track in the men’s 10-mile with a time of 46:37:6.
Drayton set the Canadian marathon record of 2:10:09 in Fukuoka in December 1975 and finished sixth in the Olympic marathon the following year in Montreal. Drayton’s Canadian marathon mark lasted until 2018 when Cam Levins bettered it in the Toronto Waterfront Marathon.
In 1977, Drayton was the first Canadian in 29 years to win the Boston Marathon. He won a silver medal at the Commonwealth Games the next year.
After retiring, Drayton remained involved in the athletic world as a consultant with the Sports and Fitness Division of Ontario’s Ministry of Youth, Culture and Recreation.
WATCH | Levins breaks Drayton’s Canadian marathon record:
In his marathon debut, Cam Levins of Black Creek, B.C., broke Jerome Drayton’s 43-year-old Canadian men’s marathon record by 44 seconds. Levins finished fourth in the Toronto Waterfront Marathon with a time of 2:09:25.
